Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase are joined by Buffalo Sabres General Manager Jarmo Kekäläinen, who takes Lindy Ruff’s place as the guys’ weekly interview from the Buffalo Sabres. The guys discuss the start to the season for the Sabres, the crazy new world of NHL contracts, the trade market, and more! Jarmo shares some of his perspective on the special teams struggles as well.
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#buffalo #sabres #buffalosabres #letsgobuffalo #sabrehood #sabresnews #buffalosabresnews #nhl #hockey #nhlnews #wgr550 #wgr #sports
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00:00Jeremy and Joe, happy Tuesday.
00:03Tuesday's 8 o'clock, we usually have some Sabres chatter and no different this week
00:08as we bring on Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekulainen, who joins us on the Western Hotline.
00:13Jarmo, good morning, it's Jeremy and Joe, thanks for some time today.
00:16Good morning, thanks for having me.
00:18How has the season been treating you to this point?
00:21It's an 84-game run, of course, but, you know, a handful of games in into the first month.
00:27How goes it for you?
00:30Well, I think the record is okay, just okay.
00:35I think our play can be a lot better.
00:38I don't think we're quite clicking on all cylinders yet, but it's a process and we keep working at it.
00:45Yeah, would you, I mean, one thing I've said this morning is you're getting points maybe with the B game.
00:51I mean, two regulation wins in nine games.
00:54I'm not sure, like, when you say, you know, the record is okay, is there a part you look at?
00:58Are you valuing a regulation win a little bit more?
01:00Are you just the way that they look on the ice?
01:02How do you look at it?
01:04I look at the total amount of points, the record overall, and the pace that we need to be at.
01:12As you said, it's early, so I don't really look at the standings until we get to about 15, 20
01:17games.
01:19So I'm always looking at the process behind the results rather than just the results.
01:26Having said that, I still probably would take a win with the not-so-good play rather than playing really
01:33well and losing the game and not getting any points.
01:36But I think we're all looking at the way we play, what we can improve on, whether it's on a
01:42team level or on an individual level.
01:45So that work never stops.
01:48Yeah, Armo, how about, like, how the games have gone so far?
01:51Like, the record, I mean, 4-0-2 or 3-0-2, whatever the record is, when your team is
01:57down by two goals.
01:58Like, all these comebacks where you guys are getting points, is that both, like, you're, I'm sure, happy with the
02:05team's ability to come back, but also how sustainable that might be going forward.
02:11Yeah, absolutely.
02:12I don't think that you want to fall two goals behind and climb your way back into the game.
02:19That's a hard thing to do.
02:21It shows a lot of character from our team to be able to do that.
02:25But I think that we want to get to a lead and we want to control the game from start
02:30to finish.
02:31That's always the goal.
02:32So I think the last year we showed that we had that grid.
02:36We were able to come back last year as well in many, many of the games.
02:40But definitely not something that we have planned, that let's fall behind two goals and then climb our way back
02:47to the game.
02:48You've also, the team in the last couple games, has been playing without Rasmus, Darlene.
02:51In this spot, we'd normally ask Lindy for an update.
02:53He was day-to-day.
02:54Can you give us any sort of update on Rasmus, Darlene?
02:57He should be in the lineup on Wednesday, so that's good news.
03:00He practiced with the team yesterday and he seems to be good to go.
03:04All right.
03:05Very good.
03:06With regard to the current state of the league, Jarmo, your team is mentioned quite a bit in a lot
03:12of these rumors that are out there.
03:13And I wonder how you, well, do you hear about those?
03:17Do you think about those?
03:18And your reaction to a constant drumbeat, it seems, around a move that you're trying to make?
03:26Yeah, that's the only thing that bothers me is that we're trying to make a move.
03:33We have a lot of good players, so teams call us all the time about, would you trade that guy?
03:38Would you trade this guy if we gave you this or if we gave you that?
03:42So that doesn't mean that we're looking to make a move.
03:45Yes, we're always looking for ways to get better.
03:48So if there's something out there that we think that could make our team better, we prepare to make a
03:53move.
03:53Even if it's a big or unpopular one, we're always looking for ways to make the team better.
03:58But I don't really pay attention to the rumors.
04:02I do get informed about those.
04:05And people send me stuff that's out there.
04:08Sometimes I laugh at it because it has nothing truthful about it.
04:13There's no fact in it at all.
04:15But I also realize that it could bother some of the players, that their names are out there.
04:21So sometimes I have individual conversations with the players and tell them what's going on and what the truth is.
04:26But that's the world we live in.
04:29People are making a lot of fantasy traits, as I call them.
04:34They say that, OK, this guy is available.
04:37They're going to move this guy or that guy.
04:39And who should they get if they move him to Buffalo?
04:42Oh, Buffalo has a lot of good players.
04:44Let's try to get this guy and that guy.
04:46And that's how the rumors start.
04:48And I can't really control that.
04:49But, yeah, it's part of the world we live in.
04:52How often when that happens, when a player's name is out there, will you seek the player out to have
04:58a conversation with them?
04:59Or does it ever happen where the player kind of comes to you and like, hey, I saw this.
05:03What gives?
05:05Well, I think it can happen both ways, really.
05:08But there are so many rumors out there that if I went to have a conversation with the players about
05:13the rumors, then that's all I'd be doing all day.
05:16So if there's something out there that gets a lot of noise and there's zero truth to it, I'll go
05:22to the player and talk to him and say, hey, listen, don't listen to that stuff.
05:25And it's just part of the BS that's out there.
05:29But, again, it would be a never-ending thing if I always commented either publicly or privately on all the
05:37rumors that are out there.
05:39So you just have to basically consider it as outside noise.
05:44Sabres GM, Jarmo Kekalainen, joining us on the Western Hotline.
05:48Jarmo, back to just the concept of trades.
05:50Do you feel like the league's landscape with all the signings, the long-term deals, we're seeing guys play 30,
05:5640 games and get seven-year contracts.
05:59Do you feel like the job of a GM is getting tougher because you will have to be navigating more
06:05trades down the line as opposed to free agency or the landscape we kind of used to live in?
06:13Well, I think it's a different landscape for sure.
06:16And certain things led to it this summer with the offer sheet in particular that kind of reshaped the salaries
06:24a bit.
06:25And you want to have cost certainty because you know where the salary cap's trending.
06:31So if you feel very strongly about a player, even if he hasn't played a lot of games in the
06:36NHL, we've still watched him.
06:39In our case, we've watched him in the minors, we've watched him on the teams before they came to Rochester
06:46or Buffalo.
06:47So we have a pretty good idea not only on how we project their careers going to go, but we
06:53have a good idea on their character, their determination, their goals, and how they're planning to get there.
07:01So those are a big part of the signings as well.
07:04It's not just based on the 30 games that they've played in the NHL.
07:07It's about knowing the work ethic of a player and all of those things.
07:13But yeah, when you have players locked up to long-term contracts, it may make it more difficult to make
07:21a trade.
07:21But in some cases, it could make it easier too, where the other teams want that same cost certainly too.
07:27And if they believe in the player and he's locked up, it could be a bonus too.
07:31It all depends on what they think of the salary level and other different things.
07:38So we just got to adjust.
07:40Right.
07:41Do you feel like the guys, I think you kind of just alluded to this, that guys that are already
07:45under contract might even hold more value going forward
07:49because they signed contracts when the cap was $85 million, $90 million, as opposed to,
07:55I got to go out in the open market when the cap is $120 million or whatever it's going to
07:59grow to.
08:00And it's just going to be a totally different landscape.
08:03Yeah.
08:03And, you know, there's always, you know, with the public opinion, there's always players that are getting overpaid
08:11and there are players that are getting underpaid and everybody's just looking at the current production,
08:16whereas the long-term contracts are projections of where we think their production and play will go.
08:26And at some point, almost every player is either underpaid or overpaid because the contract's based on that projection.
08:34So we just have to make our educated bets on the contracts, the long-term contracts in particular.
08:43As I said, we know the character of the player.
08:46We believe in it.
08:47And we believe that he's going into the right direction.
08:52But I think that there's always going to be a balance in the short term of players that people feel
09:00are either underpaid or overpaid.
09:02One guy who's in the final year of his deal, Yarmou, will be an RFA at the end of the
09:07season, not a UFA.
09:08Jack Quinn's off to a very good start.
09:10What have you liked from him so far this year?
09:13And have you had any talks with him and his representation either before the year
09:16or is that something you'd even be open to during the year?
09:19Yeah, we talked to all of our RFAs, our upcoming RFAs.
09:24We signed a few of them, and we've talked to all of them.
09:27And Jack's off to a great start, which is great to see.
09:30This is exactly what we've expected from our young guys, especially on that line with Quinn Benson and Oslin,
09:38to take the next step and be a big part of our success.
09:41So he's trending in the right direction.
09:43I think the biggest reason for that is that he keeps getting stronger.
09:47He's always been a skilled goal scorer and a skilled player.
09:51Now he's getting more on the inside into the areas where he's scored goals from, and the results are there.
09:58So we need him to keep trending the same way, and we have no problem paying a player that's playing
10:03great.
10:03So we intend to keep Jack here for a long time.
10:07Jarmo Kekalainen on the Western Hotline.
10:08Jarmo, you made commitments this offseason to a couple of players.
10:11The most recent was Noah Oslin.
10:13What have you felt about him to this point, and how did he fit a lot of the things you
10:17kind of just said
10:18about knowing the player, the character, how much a guy has played versus how much you're willing to roll out
10:23for term on a contract?
10:26Yeah, Noah's played well.
10:28He's led that line at center with Benson and Quinn, and I think that they've been by far our best
10:36line so far.
10:38Noah's game is not always on the score sheet either.
10:40He's so smart defensively.
10:42Coaches rely on him in all situations because of his hockey IQ, and he's the engine.
10:49He's the motor of that line that takes care of both ends of the ice.
10:53He's so smart.
10:54He can see the ice so well and anticipate, see plays that sometimes we can't even see from the press
11:00box.
11:02I'll give you an example of that pass that if you guys remember that he made the Jack win in
11:07Toronto
11:08through traffic from the left side to the right side.
11:11It was phenomenal, and we believe he has a lot of levels to go to yet.
11:17So that's why we locked him up because we think he's a determined athlete who wants to get better
11:22and wants to get stronger.
11:24He had a really good offseason and put on some muscle and weight and looks stronger this year on the
11:33ice.
11:33So he's going to be a big part of our team moving forward.
11:39Jarmo, on special teams so far this year, it's not been a great start.
11:44I mean, the power plays in last percentage-wise, the penalty kills bottom three, that's new.
11:48I mean, the penalty kill was so good last year.
11:50When you are judging the organization and looking at what you have player-wise, coach-wise,
11:56how much value do you put on not just what's happening out there at five-on-five,
12:02but what this team is currently offering or what players or whoever is currently giving you
12:07on the man advantage or even on the penalty kill?
12:11Yeah, it's a big part for sure.
12:14And last year we had good penalty killing power plays, work in progress, obviously,
12:20and we need to get better at it.
12:22But we need to get our PK onto the same level as we had it last year.
12:27The one thing that bothers me about the criticism on the power plays is that
12:33I'd say pretty much all the coaches around the National Hockey League are drawing the same things
12:38on the board on how we should play it and what kind of different combinations we should have
12:44or the strategy, and it's up to the players to execute it.
12:50And if the players are not doing what they're supposed to be doing,
12:53it doesn't matter what the coach draws on the board.
12:56So I think it's a combination of things, of working together, coaching staff and the players,
13:02and then executing what we've planned on the ice and doing the things that we're supposed to do.
13:07And power plays so much about instinct and sticking to the plan and making sure we get good entries,
13:16first of all, and then executing the plan.
13:21But, you know, it's something that we're working on every day,
13:25something that we all know that we need to get better at.
13:27And I think that there's a little bit of pressing going on on the ice when things are not going
13:33well,
13:34knowing that that's an area that we need to get better at,
13:38and that's an area that there's a magnifying glass on,
13:41especially at home when we play here in Buffalo.
13:45The fans seem to get very antsy when the power play is not going,
13:49and understandably so.
13:51They understand that there are very knowledgeable hockey fans here in Buffalo,
13:56so they understand how important it is.
13:58But it's something that we take very seriously
14:02and something that I talk to the coaches about every day,
14:06and I see them working at it every day from, you know,
14:11now that we're talking here on the radio,
14:13they've been at the office already planning those things for a couple hours.
14:17So we have an extremely hard-working coaching staff that takes this very seriously,
14:22and they want to get better at it,
14:24but the players need to execute the plan as well.
14:28Yarno, Olin Zellweger, I want to ask you about him
14:30because he's one of the big pieces brought in this offseason.
14:33Someone you would have identified, the pro scouting side, would have identified.
14:36How have you liked the transition for him as part of this group?
14:41There's been a lot of games that I've liked him a lot.
14:43He brings a lot of speed, energy, and ability to join the rush from the back end,
14:49which has been our strength.
14:52And we lost, obviously, Bo Byram, who was really good at it.
14:56And we think that Olin Zellweger can bring some of the same elements that we lost with Bo.
15:01And he's shown that already with his ability to support the offensive side of things.
15:11But the main role of a defenseman is to defend, too.
15:16And that's something that we're working on with Olin
15:18and recognizing that he doesn't always have to join the rush
15:23or try to make something that's not there to look for offense,
15:30I think is something that he needs to tone down a little bit as a defenseman.
15:34But I think he's been very good so far.
15:39He's one of the fastest players in the league.
15:42He's got a lot of skill.
15:43He's been able to produce some offense.
15:46But, you know, we have a lot of offense coming from our defensemen.
15:52So we need guys to play solid defense as well.
15:56You know, we have Rasmus Dallin and Owen Power who are elite in that area.
16:00And Matthias Samuelsson are probably one of the most underrated defensemen
16:04that can also provide some offense and take care of both ends.
16:09So I think we all believe that our D core is still a strength of our team
16:15and Olin's been a good addition.
16:18Yarmul with us.
16:19Yarmul, we have not talked about goaltending really with you yet.
16:22How do you feel like that's going for you overall?
16:25And, you know, we talked trade rumors with you earlier,
16:27how often that happens.
16:28How do you feel like Lukanen deals with the trade rumors that happen about him,
16:34the atmosphere around him in the city?
16:37And if you feel like he is good at blocking all of that out
16:40or if that factors in at all to his struggles early on?
16:46I don't know.
16:47I think that you probably need to ask him about that.
16:52But, you know, goaltending is such a tough position.
16:56Every mistake that you make is on the board.
16:59And people criticize goaltenders on goals that they basically have no chance
17:06of getting, no goalie would have a chance of getting.
17:09Sometimes it hits you.
17:10Sometimes it goes by you.
17:13And if it does, on a deflection, for example,
17:16then you probably have no chance of stopping it.
17:19But I was just joking with the coaches one day.
17:23We were talking about it when we beat a good goalie with a shot.
17:28And it's a great goal.
17:30What a shot.
17:31And then the same shot comes on our goalie.
17:33And we're like, oh, maybe he should have had that.
17:36And why is that?
17:37I don't.
17:39The goaltenders get so unfairly criticized for some of the goals that they let in
17:45because, as I said, the mistakes show on the board.
17:49And, you know, that's why it's such an important position.
17:53It's the hardest position in hockey, for sure.
17:56I couldn't even imagine playing a goalie.
17:59And they're so good at it.
18:02Today's goalies, they're incredible athletes with reaction time that we only dream about.
18:10But, you know, the consistency is the key.
18:12Has he been on the level that he was last year?
18:16Probably not.
18:17Does he get there?
18:19I believe he will.
18:20And I think that he's a pretty level-headed guy who can put out the noise in the background
18:26and just concentrate on the job.
18:28But we're all humans, too.
18:31And, as I said, the pressure on goalies is completely on a different level than it is on anybody else
18:40on the team.
18:41But we believe in our goaltending.
18:44They had really good numbers last year.
18:46They were good for us, all three of them.
18:49Alex Lyon's been hurt and is close to coming back.
18:52And we'll see where he's at when he does.
18:56Colton Ellis played some excellent games for us last year.
18:59He hasn't been quite as good as he was last year, but we believe he'll get there again.
19:04He'll be a big part of our team.
19:07But Ukopekalukurin is a really good goaltender that has a lot to give to the Buffalo Sabres.
19:16And he'll be a big part of our future.
19:19Yarmulkekeleinen here on the Western Island.
19:21Yarmulkekeleinen, before we let you go, I want to ask you, last year, of course, playoffs, division title, second round,
19:27game seven.
19:27And people around here, myself included, would have thought, like, all right, let's see what the next step is.
19:33And, you know, the goal, obviously, is to win the Stanley Cup for an organization.
19:36So where do you feel comfortable saying the goal for this current team should be?
19:42Is it the Stanley Cup?
19:43Is it to build on what happened?
19:46What is a good season for the Buffalo Sabres of 2026-27?
19:52Every season we go to, our goal is to win the Stanley Cup.
19:55First, you've got to get to the playoffs.
19:57And I've said it in our internal meetings and publicly that this year is going to be really hard to
20:02make the playoffs, as it is every year.
20:04But our division is the murderer's row.
20:09And our conference is the tougher conference to make the playoffs from.
20:14That's for sure.
20:15But having said that, we need to grow as a team.
20:17We need to grow as a group.
20:19We lost a couple of good players.
20:21Now it's time for some of the other players that are getting that ice time to step up.
20:25And as I've mentioned in this conversation, Zach Benson, Noah Eslund, and Jack Quinn-Line has stepped up.
20:32And now we need that from some of the other guys that had really good years last year
20:37or are getting into the start of their career and expecting to grow into important players in the NHL.
20:45You know, Konsta Helenius, Yuri Kulik missed all last year, but was a 15-goal scorer the year before.
20:54Now we need him to get back to the level he was at before.
20:58Konsta Helenius was excellent in the playoffs.
21:01And, you know, the expectations are higher this year now that we've seen what he could do in the most
21:07important part of the year in the playoffs against Montreal.
21:10So he hasn't gotten off to a start that he'd want to, but we as a team and as management
21:19coaches, we believe that he will.
21:22And those are the things that we need as a team.
21:26You know, Josh Stone had an excellent year last year.
21:28He hasn't gotten off to a start that he'd want to.
21:33And maybe some of it is the expectations are so different right now.
21:37But as a group, we believe we can take the next step, make the playoffs, and the Stanley Cup's the
21:45ultimate goal.
21:46But as management, we're always looking for ways to make the team better.
21:50And as I said early on, that even if there's an unpopular or big move that we can make that
21:56we think will take us over the top,
21:59then we'll do that.
22:00But we believe in this group and then the growth potential of it.
22:05Last thing for me, at the trade deadline and maybe the offseason as well,
22:08it seemed that some trades that were right to the line and maybe trade deadline or, I'm sorry, no trade
22:15clauses existed that might have stopped those.
22:18Have you felt an appetite to do something and not yet been able to maybe do that?
22:23Some might talk about that as putting, you know, your stamp on the team, right?
22:29Make it your own team on some level.
22:32Do you feel that?
22:33Do you feel like there's more for you to do?
22:37There's always more for me to do.
22:39And I really don't care about my stamp.
22:41I just care about winning games with the Buffalo Sabres.
22:44And that's all my focus is on.
22:49And there's always opportunities available.
22:52Sometimes they might get blocked for certain reasons.
22:54And sometimes you don't agree on the price.
22:57And those are the things that you have to consider, whether it's at the deadline or right now,
23:03is that, OK, we could make this move for this player and he would make us a lot better.
23:08But the price is just too high.
23:10It's just not worth it.
23:11And then you don't make a trade.
23:15And sometimes you agree on the price.
23:17And then you're hoping that the move you make is going to make your team better.
23:22And that's the reason you make it, is that you believe that it's going to make the team better.
23:26But it takes two to agree on a price.
23:29And sometimes the price is just too high.
23:31And it doesn't make any sense.
23:34You're going to hang up with us anticipating any calls with GMs today?
23:37Any calls scheduled?
23:41We'll do our own speculation.
23:44Yeah, I'm sure you will.
23:46There's no calls usually scheduled with the GMs.
23:50But they happen frequently and regularly.
23:53And that's part of the job.
23:55Always keeping up with what's going on around the league.
23:57And sort of speculating what the other teams may be doing in the situations that they're in.
24:05And anticipating that they might be making a move.
24:08So you make a regular round of calls to know that you've at least contacted them and see where they're
24:14at.
24:15Very good.
24:16Sabres GM, Jarmo Kekalainen on the Western Hotline.
24:19Jarmo, thanks for the time.
24:20And tomorrow, Philadelphia.
24:22Best of luck.
24:23Thank you very much.
24:24All right.
24:24Sabres GM on the Western Hotline.
24:26803-0550 is our phone number.
24:30All right.
24:34He's polished, you know.
24:36Yeah.
24:37You can ask questions.
24:38He's been a GM before.
24:41He knows how to take a question.
24:44I don't know.
24:46They trade for a goalie in five minutes.
24:50That'd be whatever.
24:51He did say Lukainen has a lot to give this team.
24:55Yeah, and is a part of the future.
24:57But, you know, that could just be.
24:58Again, it could be anything.
24:59Yeah, that could be anything.
25:00Kevin Adams was not shopping Casey Middlestad.
25:04How quickly after that did he get traded?
25:06Doesn't matter.
25:07Wasn't it, like, the next day?
25:08It might not have been the next.
25:09That week.
25:10It was pretty quick.
25:12Yeah.
25:13Here's a good quote.
25:13A good thing to mention from Chuck in the YouTube chat.
25:17He mentioned a couple times an unpopular trade.
25:20Like, if I have to make an unpopular move.
25:23What would be an unpopular move?
25:28I haven't seen too many of those.
25:30The only thing I feel like there would really be an unpopular move with this team right now
25:34would be any sort of seller trade, which is just obviously not in the cards at all.
25:38No, not right now.
25:39If they traded, hey, Ryan McLeod is on the fourth line wing because we have too many centers,
25:43so we're going to trade him for a first-round pick.
25:46That's an unpopular move.
25:47Yeah.
25:47I mean, maybe trading Consta would be unpopular, right?
25:51He's not signed.
25:52The other guys are signed.
25:53Sure.
25:53Kulik, I guess, could fall.
25:56I don't know.
25:57That's a good question.
25:58How many are there out there?
26:00There are not many.
26:01Unpopular moves?
26:02No.
26:02I mean, how many players, if they were to be traded, we would freak out?
26:06Besson.
26:06Colleen, Benson, Power.
26:08I mean, I think Power.
26:10Tage?
26:11Sure.
26:14Osland.
26:15The young guys even?
26:17They just signed them.
26:17Right.
26:17That's not even realistic.
26:19Yeah.
26:20I don't think there's many, personally.
26:22I think it would be seller trades, and they're not going to do that.
26:25Bill's guard, Bill's offensive lineman, Austin Corbett, joins us when we return.
26:28Talk to us about the Raider experience and staying out west with the team for those two
26:32games.
26:32Coming up here on WGR.